OBJECTIVE To compare the fatal and non-fatal crash injury risk for children in minivans compared with midsize and large sport utility vehicles (SUVs). DESIGN Three large population-based sources of US crash data were used--a nationwide cohort of sampled police-reported crashes (NASS-CDS) along with a census of fatal crashes (FARS), plus a large child crash surveillance system, Partners for Ch...

This paper considers a comprehensive naturalistic driving experiment to collect driving data under potential threats on actual Chinese roads. Using acquired real-world naturalistic driving data, a near-crash database is built, which contains vehicle status, potential crash objects, driving environment and road types, weather condition, and driver information and actions. The aims of this study ...

Historical data confirm that rural roadways carry less than half of America’s traffic but account for the majority of the nation’s vehicular deaths. According to NHTSA, Wyoming has the highest crash fatality rate in the nation with a reported 2009 road death rate of 24.6 per 100,000 population, more than twice the national average of 11.0. High speed two-lane rural roads are believed to contrib...

BACKGROUND Road traffic fatalities (RTF) are among the top ten causes of deaths in the world. The risk factors for RTF fatal victims have been extensively characterized, but studies of household burden of RTF have been very few in number. Accordingly, this article investigates post-crash impacts on RTF victims' family members, including the adverse impacts of lost income, occupational disruptio...

Many agencies use traffic crash data to identify problems, establish goals and performance measures, measure progress of specific programs, and support development and evaluation of highway and vehicle safety countermeasures. Traditionally, efforts have considered only crash data and roadway network attributes and have not taken adjacent demographics, socioeconomics, land use, and other non-roa...

To curtail the rising numbers of cyclists seriously injured in road crashes, more insights are needed into the factors that contribute to these crashes. For instance, darkness is known to be associated with higher injury rates, but little is known about the relative influence of factors such as poor conspicuity, impaired perception and alcohol use among cyclists. To examine these factors, the p...

Past research has shown that intersections are particularly difficult for older drivers to negotiate. To investigate potential contributing factors, standard database elements were paired with visual inspections of video log images to evaluate factors such as visual clutter, approach sight distances, and the condition and visibility of pavement markings. For comparative purposes, the paper also...

OBJECTIVE Work zone safety is one of the top priorities for transportation agencies. In recent years, a considerable volume of research has sought to determine work zone crash characteristics and causal factors. Unlike other non-work zone-related safety studies (on both crash frequency and severity), there has not yet been a comprehensive review and assessment of methodological approaches for w...

OBJECTIVE The initial months of licensure are especially hazardous for teenagers. Factors leading to crashes of novice 16-year-old drivers were identified. METHOD Sixteen year-olds in Connecticut who were involved in nonfatal crashes during the first 8 months of licensure were interviewed, and police crash reports were examined. Crash types and contributing factors were identified. RESULTS ...